


Uma to shāku no ai

by Pyrachan



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 12:32:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10899423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyrachan/pseuds/Pyrachan
Summary: Prompt: A story about a shark and a horse who fell in love. The horse jumped into the sea to be with the shark but it drowned and died, so the shark became so sad that it also died.





	Uma to shāku no ai

**Author's Note:**

> Originally on tumblr for the ficathon, now moved here to AO3 for your viewing pleasure.

“Woah! Slow down there, boy. You don’t want to get me all wet, do you?" 

The auburn-coloured horse whinnied and gave what looked like a large, cheeky grin. His rider yelped as the horse purposely rode into the sea, kicking up water and managing to get the blue boots and socks of his rider all wet. As their companion laughed, the man smacked the horse on the neck, a small smile on his face.

"That’s one rowdy horse you have there, Astral. Are you sure you’ll be able to whip him up to be any show pony?” His partner asked, pulling his blonde horse over. The one called Astral smiled at the silver-haired man and shook his head, patting his stead. 

“Yuma probably won’t be in any condition to do any competitions any time soon. I’m stuck with him but I’m happy. You should be happy, Chris. Kaito won’t have any competition at the fair for the next few years.” Yuma gave a indignant neigh at that and Astral stroked him gently.

“All the more reason to hurry up. Yuma can actually hold his ground against Kaito in a race. Competition keeps them growing strong.” Astral shrugged and he got off the back of the horse, giving a long sigh as he did so. “Come on. We’ll set up camp here on the beach and let the horses wander around a bit. Then we can get back to our schedule." 

"Alright.” As Chris took the packs off his horse, Astral removed the saddle off Yuma and petted his nose. Yuma rubbed his against Astral and the man smiled softly. “Now don’t get into too much mischief. Make sure you don’t go too deeply into the water too, okay? We’ll come get you once we have food ready.” Yuma poked Astral with his nose, asking for a sugar cube, but Astral smacked him gently again. “Go. Off you go.” Yuma turned around and flicked his tail before heading off down the narrow strip of beach. 

“And you say he’s unintelligent. He likes the water a lot, doesn’t he? A seahorse without his tail." 

"I suppose so. He’s so confident in it, even if he can’t swim." 

————————-

Yuma gave a happy yell as he ran down the beach, taking in the fresh, salty air and the spray of the water on his face that came with the gust of the wind. He loved the feeling of sand creeping up his legs and getting into coat. The beach was such a beautiful place. It made him feel so alive.

The beach was a narrow one and it separated the cliffs and the ocean by its thin strip of sand. Yuma treated it as the racecourse he loved to thunder down back at home and he galloped along it at full force, only stopping when his muscles ached and his lungs couldn’t possibly take in any more air.

He was far away from Astral, Chris and Kaito when he flopped on the sand on his side, letting his hair tangle in the tiny grains, and stretched out to bask in the bright sun. It was a glorious day and it was beautiful riding. The only problem was it was just simply too hot to handle. 

He was tired so he didn’t do anything about the growing thirst at first, but eventually Yuma’s lips and nose began to dry and the sand he laid on seemed light up with the heat of a forest fire. The midday sun was rolling in and he needed a drink, but he was far from his owner and he was far from fresh water. The only thing left was to take a dip in the ocean.

So Yuma did just that. With an exhausted whine to no one, the horse attempted get up onto his feet, only to fall back down from sheer exhaustion and laziness. Yuma groaned and tried to get up again, falling once more but rolling a little closer to the beach. After numerous attempts at trying to get up to walk, falling over and rolling in a pathetic fashion, Yuma found his head being lapped by the cool, salty water. 

Giving a small noise of triumph, Yuma bounced back on his feet, a large smile on his face. He galloped into the water with reckless abandon. The water flew up and Yuma practically moaned with relief. The water felt amazing- pure liquid bliss. The smell was intoxicating and the lapping of the water was practically seductive, begging him to swim further. 

Most people would know that swimming out into deep water when you were as exhausted as Yuma was was a terrible idea, especially when you couldn’t swim. Unfortunately, Yuma wasn’t most people. Yuma was a horse. A horse that had far less sense than most horses and, in fact, most sentient life. If Kaito had been there, he would have yanked Yuma’s mane and forced him to walk back to the campsite. However, since Kaito was back at said campsite like a good stallion, Yuma found himself alone, out in the ocean with the water up to his chin. His hooves barely felt the sandbank underneath him as his nose spluttered out salt water as the sea darted into his nose. 

Just as Yuma began to fathom that being this far out to sea was not a good idea, a wave crashed over his head, causing him to panic. He started to kick his legs, panicking. He couldn’t keep afloat! His head kept going underwater! His lungs! They burned! They burned!

Though Yuma did his best to fight from going under, the young horse found himself unable to get his head above the water. Precious air bubbles escaped from the horse’s mouth. His movements slowed. His vision started to go hazy-

Then Yuma felt pain in his side. It was like a hammer, barging him on the side of his ribs. The poor horse was knocked back in the water and felt the hard ramming again. More air bubbles burst out and the poor horse sobbed.

Suddenly something painful pressed itself against his belly. It dug into his skin and the pressure got more intense. Yuma thrashed again, bucking his head up. His nose just managed to get above the water and there was a sharp intake of air. Yuma was sent under again but the pain on his belly increased and he was pushed up to the surface. 

Though everything ached and that pain didn’t go away, Yuma found himself able to keep his head above the water. His breathing was leaded and heavy but he gave a loud cry out when his weakened legs finally found the wet sand. The pain on his belly slipped away and Yuma found himself in the shore. The horse gave a loud whinny and then promptly collapsed on the wet sand, closing his eyes and breathing hard.

After what seemed like an eternity, Yuma’s eyelids slowly revealed red irises and the horse regained some of his energy. Yuma didn’t know what time it was but it was now a lot cooler and the sun was lower on the horizon. Oh no! It was almost dinner time! He was going to be late!

The horse lifted his head and was about to get up when he spotted something sticking out of the water. A large fin. A large shark fin. It wasn’t actually that large but it seemed pretty large to Yuma because it was very close to where he was lying. Attached to the large-looking fin, was a purple lemon shark, staring at Yuma with the most stunning blue eyes. Yuma nickered and the shark was suddenly jolted out of whatever thoughts he was having. He looked stunned, his curious expression fading away and replacing itself with a shark scowl. 

Yuma snickered and then brayed his name to the shark. He didn’t expect an answer- he wasn't that stupid- but the shark responded in his own tongue, communicating to Yuma his name. 

Ryoga. 

Well he looked like a Reginald but Ryoga it was. It was a nice name; a name that made Yuma really happy.

It took the horse a few minutes to realise that the reason that there was a shark so close to the shore was because it was the creature who saved him from drowning. Yuma looked at the fin and tried to look at his stomach- he could never see it-, guessing that Ryoga had pushed him out of the water and onto the shore instead of making him a tasty snack.

When Yuma asked Ryoga why did he save him, Ryoga didn’t respond. Yuma got up and walked closer to the shark but Ryoga hissed and bared his multiple rows of shark teeth, trying to intimidate the young horse. Yuma only nickered and then showed his own white teeth, grinning cheekily at what he had dubbed his new friend.

The shark gave what looked like a sigh and Yuma fearlessly trotted forward, nuzzling the shark with his nose. Ryoga’s gills flared up in embarrassment at the affection and he kicked his tail, trying to tell Yuma that he had been thanked enough. Yuma backed away as asked, still grinning. He wanted to play with his new saviour now. The horse was about to suggest a game to the grumpy gills when his tummy rumbled. Oh that was right, it was dinner time! Astral had promised him sugar cubes and carrots.

Giving a neigh goodbye to his fish friend, Yuma began to gallop off, forgetting his fatigue in favour for his stomach. Ryoga stared at Yuma and then rolled his eyes, turning and going back into deeper water in search of prey. Much like how Yuma wasn’t a very sensible horse, Ryoga wasn’t a very sensible shark. He didn’t know why he didn’t eat the struggling prey… he just set it free. Now he had to go find something else to eat.

——– 

Yuma gave a small pout as he laid near the campfire. It was now well into the night and he wasn’t sleepy: he had napped in the evening after he had scarfed down his dinner and gone straight to sleep, not listening to Astral scolding him and Kaito chastise him for being ‘so unsightly’. Now he had all his energy back but everyone was fast asleep. He didn’t want to wander away from the campsite when it was so late but he didn’t want to do nothing either.

The horse gave a small groan and looked towards the ocean for what seemed the umpteenth time. The moon was high and bright, making the sea look as if it glowed. It was beautiful but- hey is that Ryoga’s fin? 

The horse got up and trotted to the water, going only so far as knee-height, to meet the ocean-dweller. Sure enough, the unmistakable blue-eyed, purple shark was there, staring at Yuma again. There was a moment of staring between the two before Yuma realised that Ryoga had come to see him! Ryoga had come to see him!

Ryoga’s gills puffed up, embarrassed, as Yuma happily trotted on the spot, whinnying softly in a sort of victory song. The shark gave him a scowl again and Yuma gave him an equally-toothy grin. Shark had come to see him! He had saved him and now he came to see him. Yuma had to thank him some how.

Ryoga mumbled something about making sure the dumb horse hadn’t drowned himself and Yuma beamed happily. Oh he knew the perfect gift to give Ryoga! He quickly ran back to the campsite and quietly, he searched through Astral’s bag using his nose to push things around, quickly finding the small, plastic box of what he wanted. 

The shark stared at Yuma as he trotted back, a sugar cube gently held between his teeth. Sugar cubes were Yuma’s favourite thing in the whole wide world and this was the last sugar cube their group had. It was the least he could do for Ryoga. Yuma began beckoning with his head for Ryoga to open his mouth and, after a few minutes, he did. Ryoga’s mouth was huge and he could see the jagged rows of teeth but not once did Yuma think he would bite him. The horse leaned over and pressed his lips against the shark’s dropping the sugar cube into his mouth.

Yuma grinned as he saw Ryoga’s gills flare up again, opening and closing like how a gaping fish would. He gave a soft nicker and rubbed the shark with his head, silently thanking him for all he had done.

——-

Astral and the Arclight family lived in a small ranch, about twenty minutes from the beach. Every night since that night, when everyone was asleep and Kaito was not there to nag at him, Yuma would sprint and jump the fence and head to the ocean where his fishy friend would be. Without fail, Ryoga would be there waiting for him with an aspirated look that said 'God, you’re always late’ but when Yuma nuzzled him, it quickly turned into a 'God, I missed you." 

They would spend the entire night together, until day broke over the horizon, Yuma would wade as far as his knees and Ryoga would as close to him as his gills would let him. Ryoga would slink around Yuma’s four legs, nuzzling Yuma’s hair and nipping him while Yuma whinnied and neighed and made sounds just the two of them to enjoy. Yuma would tell him about the wide world. The mountains and the hills and the towns and the grass while Ryoga would talk about the ocean and swimming and the marine life. It didn’t matter what they did together, as long as they were together. Together. It was all about unity now. The two wished that they could explore each other’s world together and they wished that the could be permanently together. Months passed and improbable as it seemed, the horse and the shark had fallen in love.

After another snuggling session, Yuma jumped back into the farm and laid down in his open stable, not having the energy to stand up an sleep like he usually did. When he awoke, it was late afternoon and Astral was coming to get him. Yuma gave a small neigh and Astral smiled, stroking his nose gently.

"I swear you get lazier and lazier each day. Also dirtier. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” Astral sighed. He made a clicking sound and Yuma slowly rolled up. Astral smiled and got on his back, clicking and tapping Yuma with his foot. Yuma began to walk over to where he was instructed, out the gates, and Astral pointed to a truck out the front.

“Are you excited, Yuma? We’re finally moving to a new ranch.” Yuma looked at Astral, confused and the man stared back, “I’ve only been telling you about it every other day. We’re moving closer inland, towards the mountains. It’s a better location and there will be more opportunities for us. It’s about a week’s travel away though, so we’ll have to leave this little place behind. I’m going to miss it and the beach, Yuma." 

Yuma froze. They were… leaving? Saying goodbye? Leaving the beach? Leaving Ryoga? Yuma stared at Astral as the man got off. Astral offered Yuma a sugar cube but Yuma gave a loud neigh, getting on his hind legs and tossing his front ones. Astral gave a yelp as Yuma got back on all fours, racing towards the beach. 

"Yuma! Wait!”

Yuma neighed and whinnied loudly, calling out as soon as his hooves hit the sand. He couldn’t see Ryoga anywhere. Desperate not to leave his lover, the horse dipped into the ocean, kicking his legs up and trying to make a big racket. Ryoga would find him. He wouldn’t leave Ryoga. Yuma ran further and further into the ocean, running as fast as he could. He could feel himself slipping under but he had to find Ryoga! He had to say he loved him! He wanted to be with him!

All of a sudden, Yuuma’s leg slipped and the horse came tumbling down into the deeper parts of the sea. No one was around him. He couldn’t get up. No! No! No! He had to find Ryoga! He needed to find and stay with his shark. He couldn’t give up. No… No… Air was rushing out, being replaced by water… he was getting heavy…

—–

Ryoga only found Yuma’s body a few hours later. Instead of seeing Yuma’s body on the shore, he found the body on the sea bed. Ryoga mourned with wails of anguish in his tongue and abstinence. If he hadn’t been hunting, he could have saved Yuma again! Yuma could have been alive with him. Ryoga felt his heart break in two and he nested over the body, not wanting predators to get it and not wanting to leave his side.

——

The shark died of starvation three days later, protecting the carcass of the horse. Astral spent a long time looking for his horse’s body, but gave up after a week of searching. 

——

Months passed and their flesh was eventually stripped away by bottom feeders. Each bone was cleaned so finely that when all was done, it looked like the bones had come from one and the same creature. The hollow bones bones remained together as a heap on top of each other, covered by sand and buried under rock, as a sort of tomb for both of them. 

However the spirits of the shark and horse were not restrained. They were combined too, in spirit. Forever able to explore both their worlds together.


End file.
